The MAP News |
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FEATURE STORY MAP releases 2015 Year End Report 2015 was another significant year for both MAP and the mangroves. MAP’s workload greatly expanded and some added new staff helped ease the otherwise unwieldy burden of work overload. Mangroves are no longer so remote and maligned in misconceptions as “muddy, mosquito-infested wastelands!” There is a genuine awakening of both scientific and general public sentiment concerning mangroves today, and this gives rise to hope that after 24 years of dedicated work, we are witness to a remarkable change which could well lead to a reversal of that still dangerous 1% And towards that end, MAP has developed effective tools to further the goals of mangrove conservation and restoration via our proven track record with CBEMR and the Marvelous Mangrove (MM) Curriculum. More people living in the mangrove areas are learning important lessons that improve the overall approach to mangrove conservation and management. READ MORE ASIA Trouble Brewing in Paradise Over Fate Of Bali’s Benoa Bay INDONESIA - “Build Bali, subsidize the farmers. We all eat rice, don’t need reclamation.” If Bali needed a protest song, then the lyrics above from the song “Bali Tolak Reklamasi” (“Bali Refuses Reclamation”) summarize quite succinctly one of the most contentious issues bubbling beneath the veneer of the idyllic island paradise projected by tour operators. The song was written by a band called Nosstress and sung by dozens of Balinese artists, including renowned bands such as Superman Is Dead, The Bullhead, Nymphea and Gold Voice. It’s a rallying cry against the reclamation of land in Benoa Bay, in southern Bali, by the developer Tirta Wahana Bali Internasional — a massive project that critics contend will devastate the mangrove ecosystem and put the local fishing community out of work. A decree permitting the project was first issued without any fanfare on Dec. 26, 2012, but later revoked by Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika. However, the governor later issued a new reclamation decree granting TWBI permission to conduct a feasibility study on the plan to use, develop and manage the Benoa Bay area. READ MORE From the Executive Director - Please see the linked article below about the Thai Union endorsing spending millions on a "shrimp center" to boost security in their failing industry. It is so naive for the TU to think by setting up such a "shrimp center" they will magically discover ways to solve the disease issues that stem from inherent fatal weaknesses in their mode of operation in the first place. I have stressed for two decades now the need to covert their unsustainable, open, throughput systems of aquaculture to closed recirculating systems built inland, away from the inter-tidal zones and not on otherwise productive, fertile lands or forests. There are plenty of already ruined lands and arid, barren areas to set up "shrimp shop!" TU to set up B500m shrimp research hub THAILAND - SET-listed Thai Union Group Plc (TU), the world's biggest exporter of canned tuna, plans to set up the country's first shrimp research and development (R&D) centre in a bid to make Thailand the world's number one in the business, says a senior executive. Rittirong Boonmechote, TU president for shrimp business, said the R&D centre would need an investment budget of 500 million baht, which is expected to come from seafood-exporting companies, the government and TU itself. The centre is expected to be fully constructed and start operation by 2017, he said. "We [the private sector and the government] are in talks concerning the centre and will sign a memorandum of understanding after Songkran," he said. However, they have not yet named the centre officially, Mr Rittirong said. The shrimp centre is one of the Pracha Rat (People's State) projects, which means the people, the government and businesses must work together to pursue sustainable development and help farmers, workers and communities secure their livelihoods. READ MORE Group works to preserve coastal resources of Bangladesh BANGLADESH - Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS) is a non-profit, non-political organization committed to the sustainable socio-economic development, conservation of natural resources, use of clean energy and protection of environment through research and implementation of activities. A group of enlightened environmentalists, development workers and nature lovers came together with the idea of advocating for the ever degrading coastal ecosystem of Bangladesh. As a result BEDS was formed on July 26, 2010 to work with the grass root level community. The organisation strives for the long-term co-existence of people and natural ecosystems on our planet creating harmony among the living beings. READ MORE Bangladesh coal plant protests continue after demonstrators killed BANGLADESH - Bangladeshi villagers staged further protests after police opened fire and killed at least four people demonstrating against the planned construction of two large Chinese-financed coal-fired power stations. According to police and eyewitness reports, several thousand villagers gathered in the coastal town of Gandamara near Chittagong to protest against the two power plants. These are expected to force the eviction of several thousand people in a fertile coastal farming areas and the demolition of temples and schools. The police admitted killing four people after the villagers’ demonstration was banned but the protesters claimed that at least five people had died and four others were missing. Around 100 people, including 11 police, are believed to have been injured in violent clashes. “We’ve filed cases against around 3,200 people for the violence. We’ve identified 57 of them but the rest are unnamed,” police chief Swapan Kumar told the AFP news agency. Eyewitness Abu Ahmed, who was was shot in the leg, told coal protest group Phulbari solidarity group that the villagers had been holding peaceful protests for several days after S. Alam, the Bangladeshi developer, started buying up land. READ MORE CLEAN (Coastal Livelihoods and Environmental Action Network) BANGLADESH - CLEAN is a zonal organization working in the Southwest Coastal Region of Bangladesh on agriculture, mangrove forest and forest peoples, climate crisis and water resource management. CLEAN has been working as the secretariat of Sundarbans Watch Group, a civil society platform on the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest. It is operating Mangrove Club, a forum of school students who are practicing Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum in their schools and communities. CLEAN has also established a Mangrove Resource Centre (MRC) for the students and researchers to get information and reference on Mangroves easily. The organization has initiated Mangropedia, a free and open-sourced online encyclopedia on Mangroves. Contact: Hasan Mehedi, Chief Executive, CLEAN (clean.khulna@gmail.com) READ MORE AMERICAS Music from the Nueva Canción Tradition of Latin America benefits MAP USA - Northwest Heritage Resources is pleased to present a concert performance in partnership with the Mangrove Action Project, by the very talented traditional musical group, Sin Fronteras. The concert is scheduled for 7:00pm on Saturday, May 14, 2016 at the Naval Elks Lodge – 3rd Floor Ballroom, 131 E. First St., Port Angeles, WA. At a time in the Pacific Northwest when there is growing involvement in arts and social justice, there has been renewed interest in the nueva canción (“new song”) movement from Latin America. Seattle area trio Sin Fronteras (“without borders“), are highly skilled performers of this tradition and emigrated to the U.S. from Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. Suggested donation for the concert is $10 – 15 collected at the door. No advance ticket sales. Part of admission donations will go to support the work of the Mangrove Action Project, to help restore the rapidly disappearing mangroves of Central America. READ MORE Mangroves as Fish Habitat USA - With the continuing destruction of mangrove forests world-wide, their importance to fish populations by providing habitat connectivity, nursery grounds and trophic function is a rapidly expanding research area, and one that is increasingly at the focus of many coastal conservation issues. Based on papers and extended abstracts presented at the 2nd International Symposium on Mangroves as Fish Habitat in 2014, this timely book provides an updated look at mangrove fishery linkages, community ecology and connectivity, ecological services of mangroves, potential impacts from climate change, as well as mangrove restoration success stories. This volume will provide scientists, policy-makers, educators, and students with a current, concise volume on this topic, providing much needed direction for future efforts. READ MORE OCEANA Rare Mangrove Species discovered in Australia AUSTRALIA - A local citizen scientist has made an amazing discovery in a busy Cairns’ suburb – finding a mangrove species that’s never been seen before in Australia. Local explorer, Hidetoshi Kudo made the remarkable discovery of Haines Orange Mangrove (Bruguiera hainesii). The species is largely unknown in the southern hemisphere, and has never been recorded in Australia. It is listed as rare and endangered on the IUCN Red List, and according to the records, less than 200 of the plants had previously been found on the planet. Dr Norm Duke, an international mangrove scientist with TropWATER at James Cook University, said Mr Kudo found another 25 of the rare mangroves in Cairns. “This is perhaps one of the most exciting recent day botanical discoveries for this country.” “It also highlights our sad lack of basic knowledge about even something as obvious as such sizable tree species. There clearly remain unknown species out there – as this instance clearly demonstrates - right under our very noses,” Dr Duke said. READ MORE Climate-Related Death of Coral Around World Alarms Scientists AUSTRALIA – Kim Cobb, a marine scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, expected the coral to be damaged when she plunged into the deep blue waters off Kiritimati Island, a remote atoll near the center of the Pacific Ocean. Still, she was stunned by what she saw as she descended some 30 feet to the rim of a coral outcropping. “The entire reef is covered with a red-brown fuzz,” Dr. Cobb said when she returned to the surface after her recent dive. “It is otherworldly. It is algae that has grown over dead coral. It was devastating.” The damage off Kiritimati is part of a mass bleaching of coral reefs around the world, only the third on record and possibly the worst ever. Scientists believe that heat stress from multiple weather events including the latest, severe El Niño, compounded by climate change, has threatened more than a third of Earth’s coral reefs. Many may not recover. READ MORE LAST WORD(S) Hello everyone! My time as a volunteer intern at the MAP Asia office in Thailand has come to an end :-( It has been an incredible experience and have learnt so much about mangrove restoration and mangrove ecosystems as a whole! It has been a pleasure working and exchanging information with all of you. Thank you! I wish you all the best for the future. Happy Thai Buddhist New Year! Regards. Manon Whittaker BACK TO TOP Not yet a subscriber? Click here to subscribe. Please cut and paste these news alerts/ action alerts on to your own lists and contacts. Help us spread the word and further generate letters of concern, as this can make a big difference in helping to halt a wrongdoing or encourage correct action.
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Action Alerts:CALL FOR CHILDRENS ART: We invite all primary school children from tropical and sub-tropical nations, and whose schools are located near mangroves, to create art telling us "why mangroves are important to my community and me?” Selected winners will be published in the 2017 calendar to be distributed internationally READ MORE MAPs 2016 Childrens Calendar now available ORDER TODAY The AMSN 2016 Conference Muddy Mangrove Movie-fest wants your mangrove and saltmarsh short films! CLICK HERE Petition for Shrimper's Rights The benefit for those who harvest wild shrimp in the state of Louisiana and possible health issues involved with consuming possibly diseased imports outweigh the savings to the consumer. Please sign this petition to insure imported shrimp stay off market and help insure the future of Louisiana's fishing families SIGN HERE Tell Dam Builders to Pull Out of Agua Zarca Dam! For years, critics of the Agua Zarca dam project in Honduras have been targeted by a campaign of violence, intimidation and outright murder. Then, on March 2, Berta Cáceres – vocal critic of the Agua Zarca Dam, Goldman Prize winner and mother of four – was brutally murdered in her home. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Sign out Petition Tell Red Lobster its "Endless shrimp" deal is damaging and unfair to the workers SIGN THE PETITION Training Opportunity Course on mangrove ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean region Mangroves: Guidebook to Malaysia – available for download here Mangrove rehabilitation in Asia – Local Action and cross-border Transfer of Knowledge for the Conservation of Climate, Forests and Biodiversity VIEW VIDEOS HERE Volunteer Opportunities with Mangrove Action Project CLICK HERE STOP PLANTING MANGROVES ON SEAGRASS BEDS _ A CALL TO ACTION Want to learn more about mangroves?
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